Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1887-05-26

sleeves and stirring some butter which he wa
testing. He tells me that he has plenty to do
and that he has enough work on hand to kee,
him busy for months at least. He showed M
a refrigerator in which there was a prea
stock of butter and oleomargarine to b.
tested, and he explained to me the process Of
finding whether the butter was pure or mad,
Of fats. If it is not pure the maker is subject
to fine, and he must pay the tax required
for the selling of the olemargarine He toll,
me that he did not particularly mind the
smell, and that one soon got used to it. He
does not think good oleomargarine at all bad
eating, and says when it is new you can tell
1t frombutter only by analyzation.
*+s
l next went to the life saving museum
and spent some time in looking over the Gu
rious models, and from there visited the car
pet room, where the carpets for all the offices
connected with the treasury department
throughout the country are made. When q
customs office in New York. for instance.
wants carpet, its official sends on to the
treasury department a diagram of the room.
The treasury buys the carpet, cuts it accord
ing to the diagram, sews it together and
sends it to the office ready for putting down.
1t buys in large quantities, and it gets for Al
$3.50. 1t thus saves the people many thou.
sands of dollars yearly, and the government
of the United States is run on closer basis
than people suppose. This treasury depart
ment buys everything in quantity, and il
supplies nearly everything to its subordinate
offices over the country. Every penny is
watched, and he is a sharp contractor indeed
who can get ahead of Uncle Sam. This car
pet room of the treasury department is as big
MS that of the ordinary city hall. It's walls
are piled high with great bundles Of Brussels
carpet, and at one end there is sort of a hin
which contains thousands upon thousands of
yards. Upon the floor lie carpets sewed and
ready to be sent out, Of every shape and size
and in the window sit two women busiIv
sewing. They have sewed here for years and
these women make up nearly all of the gov
eminent carpets. The carpet is cut ont hv y
professional cutter and handed over tn tbs,,
They take it on two wooden horses much ln,e
those used by carpenter, so that the two
aages to be sewed together are held even
They then sew at these, moving their chairs
along as they do so. They are very exnert
and can turn out many yards Of CARPET day
chatted with them as they busily piled tn.
needle, and they told me that though the
work was hard the pay was good, and they
liked their positions.
In another room once found number OF
young ladies busily working away at stamps.
The law had been changed and tie treasury
wanted to change some old stamps to co."
respond with 1t. They were doing this with
hand stamps, and these stamps were operate,
by treasury maidens AS / looked at the
small hands and delicate white wrists | asked
'e guide did not they get very tired poun.
''ig down on that paper all day. He re
Piled yes; at first they could hardly work tn
second day, but they gradually broke them
selves into it and soon did very well.
80
There is a library and a bookbinderv also
in the attic of the treasury, and Mrs Kim
ball, the librarian, tells me that the govern.
ment clerks are as a class readers, and that
there Is large demand for the better an
tborites upon history and biography. She
says the negroes OF the department patronize
It largely, and that their taste does not run
to novels, but rather to hist,ry, politics and
religion
Speaking Of the treasury clerks, thew are
much excited, as are indeed all clerks at
w ashington, about the new civil service
rules, which provide that old clerks shall IN
1ergo civil service examinations MANY of
them are studying their school text books. |
md 1t looks rather queer to see a gray haired
nan or woman with a spelling book in their
1ards. 1t is rather ridiculous too sometimes:
IS for instance l am told that the most ex.
pert of the lady counters of the trcasury-a |
woman who has national reputation for &C. |
'urately lingering a certain number Of thou !
and bank notes in q days now engaged |
Turing all of her leisure time in studying |
geography. FRANK g. CARPENTER